Patent US6448938B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6448938B1
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Method and apparatus for frequency selective beam forming
Assignee: IPR Licensing Inc
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Filing: 2001-06-12
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Granted: 2002-09-10
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Expires: 2021-06-12
Abstract
Abstract A phased array antenna provides a subscriber unit with an ability to transmit and receive signals in different directions to allow for optimum gain in both directions, simultaneously. In this way, refraction and multipath effects resulting from communication signals operating at different frequencies can be compensated for to improve gain in both the forward and reverse links. Frequency selective components are coupled to respective antenna elements. At least two weighting structures are coupled to the frequency selective components to produce independently steerable beams having spectrally separated signals. The weighting structures may include phase shifting elements to steer the beams independently and include at least one variable gain amplifying component to independently amplify the signals received by or transmitted by the respective antenna, thereby optimizing the respective shapes of the beams. By having independently steerable and shapable beams, the directive antenna is attractive for use in a multi-band and/or multipath environment, same frequency or spread spectrum network.
Inventors
- 👤 Bing Chiang
- 👤 Kenneth M. Gainey
- 👤 James A. Proctor, Jr.
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 11:53
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01Q; H01Q21/00; H01Q21/06; H04; H04B; H04B7/00; H04B7/02; H04B7/04; H04B7/08; H04B7/0837; H04B7/0842; H04B7/086; H01Q1/00; H01Q1/12; H01Q1/22; H01Q1/24; H01Q1/241; H01Q1/246; H01Q21/0006; H01Q21/0018; H01Q21/22; H01Q25/00; H01Q3/00; H01Q3/22; H01Q3/26; H01Q3/2605; H01Q5/00; H01Q5/50; H04B7/06; H04B7/0613; H04B7/0615; H04B7/0617
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 31
Claim 1
Independent Claim
45 words
A directive antenna, comprising: plural antenna elements arranged in an antenna array; frequency selective components each coupled to a respective antenna element; and at least two weighting structures coupled to each of the frequency selective components to produce independently steerable beams having spectrally separated signals.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
45 words
A directive antenna, comprising: plural antenna elements arranged in an antenna array; frequency selective components each coupled to a respective antenna element; and at least two weighting structures coupled to each of the frequency selective components to produce independently steerable beams having spectrally separated signals.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
19 words
The directive antenna as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the frequency selective components separate transmit and receive signals.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
The directive antenna as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the frequency selective components separate same direction signals having different frequencies.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
16 words
The directive antenna as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the frequency selective components are printed.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
16 words
The directive antenna as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the frequency selective components are non-printed.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
17 words
The directive antenna as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the weighting structures include phase shifting elements.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
The directive antenna as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the phase shifting elements receive independent control signals to set-up respective phase shifts.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
25 words
The directive antenna as claimed in claim 1 , wherein at least one of the weighting structures includes at least one variable gain amplifying component.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
35 words
The directive antenna as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the number of variable gain amplifying components associated with each antenna element corresponds to the number of spectrally separated beams being independently optimized in shape.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
29 words
The directive antenna as claimed in claim 1 , further including a combiner associated with each beam being produced to combine signals transmitted or received by the antenna elements.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
13 words
The directive antenna as claimed in claim 1 , simultaneously producing the beams.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
14 words
The directive antenna as claimed in claim 1 , used in a multipath environment.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
35 words
The directive antenna as claimed in claim 1 , used in one of the following networks: same frequency network, spread spectrum network, code division multiple access (CDMA) network, or orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) network.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
35 words
The directive antenna as claimed in claim 1 , wherein one of the weighting structures coupled to the frequency selective components is adjusted to optimize a receive beam pattern based on a received pilot signal.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
47 words
The directive antenna as claimed in claim 1 , wherein one of the weighting structures coupled to the frequency selective components is adjusted to optimize a transmit beam pattern based on a received signal quality of a given signal via a feedback metric over a forward link.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
82 words
The directive antenna as claimed in claim 1 , wherein one of the weighting structures coupled to the frequency selective components is adjusted to steer a transmit beam in the direction of maximum received power of a signal from a given base station, while another one of the weighting structures coupled to the frequency selective components is adjusted to optimize a receive beam based on a metric selected from the group consisting of a best signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and carrier-to-interference (C/I) level.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
77 words
A method for producing independently steerable beams, comprising: weighting a first signal at a first frequency received by or to be transmitted by plural elements arranged in an antenna array having frequency selective components each coupled to a respective antenna element to produce a first steerable beam; and weighting a second signal spectrally separated from the first signal to produce a second and independently steerable beam received by or to be transmitted by the same antenna array.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
77 words
A method for producing independently steerable beams, comprising: weighting a first signal at a first frequency received by or to be transmitted by plural elements arranged in an antenna array having frequency selective components each coupled to a respective antenna element to produce a first steerable beam; and weighting a second signal spectrally separated from the first signal to produce a second and independently steerable beam received by or to be transmitted by the same antenna array.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method as claimed in claim 17 , wherein weighting the first and second signals includes phase shifting the signals.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method as claimed in claim 18 , further including selecting the phase shift of the first and second signals, respectively.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method as claimed in claim 17 , wherein the first signal is transmitted by the antenna array and the second signal is received from the antenna array.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method as claimed in claim 17 , wherein weighting the first and second signals includes variably amplifying the signals to optimize the shapes of the beams.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method as claimed in claim 17 , wherein weighting of the first and second signals is performed simultaneously to produce the beams simultaneously.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method as claimed in claim 17 , used in a multipath environment.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method as claimed in claim 17 , used in one of the following networks: same frequency network, spread spectrum network, code division multiple access (CDMA) network, or orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) network.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method as claimed in claim 17 , further including optimizing a receive beam pattern based on a received pilot signal.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method as claimed in claim 17 , further including optimizing a transmit beam pattern based on a received signal quality of a given signal via a feedback metric over a forward link.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
53 words
The method as claimed in claim 17 , further including steering a transmit beam in the direction of maximum received power of a signal from a given base station, while optimizing a receive beam based on a metric selected from the group consisting of a best signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and carrier-to-interference (C/I) level.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
81 words
Apparatus for beam forming, comprising: means for phase shifting a first signal at a first frequency received by or to be transmitted by plural antenna elements arranged in an antenna array, having frequency selective components each coupled to a respective antenna element, to produce a first steerable beam; and means for phase shifting a second signal spectrally separated from the first signal to produce a second and independently steerable beam received by or to be transmitted by the same antenna array.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
81 words
Apparatus for beam forming, comprising: means for phase shifting a first signal at a first frequency received by or to be transmitted by plural antenna elements arranged in an antenna array, having frequency selective components each coupled to a respective antenna element, to produce a first steerable beam; and means for phase shifting a second signal spectrally separated from the first signal to produce a second and independently steerable beam received by or to be transmitted by the same antenna array.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-09-09 | 2006-03-11 | 2006-09-10 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-09-09 | 2010-03-11 | 2010-09-10 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-09-09 | 2014-03-11 | 2014-09-10 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |